National ID card opponents unite behind measure before Senate panel

Two traditional legislative adversaries successfully joined forces Thursday to ask a Senate committee to pass a bill that would keep Louisiana from participating in a federal program they claimed could result in a national ID card.

Rep. Brett Geymann, R-Lake Charles

Marjorie Esman, executive director of the Louisiana arm of the American Civil Liberties Union, advocates for liberal interpretations of civil liberties policies; and Gene Mills, executive director of the Louisiana Family Forum, a conservative Christian group, called on the Senate Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works, to approve House Bill 870 by Rep. Brett Geymann, R-Lake Charles.

The bill, given unanimous approval, would order the state not to implement a program being considered by Congress that would use driver's licenses of Americans to track "any federally-regulated activity for which an identification card must be displayed," such as flying on a commercial plane or making a transaction at federally insured banks.

The federal bill would require information-gathering and storage on nationwide databases which could be used to track individuals.

Geymann's bill has already passed the House and is now on its way to the Senate floor for debate. It picked up minor changes in the Senate committee and must return to the House for approval of any of the Senate changes.

"The driver's license ID becomes a national ID by default," Geymann said.

He said the driver's license could be used to track the purchases of prescription drugs, food, liquor or medical treatment.

Geymann said the federal legislation is less onerous than a previous federal bill, but is still an invasion of privacy.

He said his bill would not only put the state on record as not joining the program being considered -- known as the PASS Act -- but any version of it that may follow.

"The state has the option to opt out" of the proposed federal legislation, Esman said.

She said personal data could be imbedded on a chip in the driver's license that can be read "20 feet away" by scanners owned by criminals to obtain someone's personal information.

The federal proposal, she said, "is an invitation to criminals to start stealing," and she criticized the government's decision to amass personal data "for no good reason."

Mills called the proposed federal legislation "a dumbed-down version" of the more sweeping previous plan opposed by 24 states.